"I left under something of a cloud," he said. "At the time I made the decision to leave because, given what I knew and what I thought was going to happen in the future, I couldn't commit to a new contract.

"I made the decision to leave but, with hindsight, it was probably the wrong decision.

"When I was there I had a few doubts over what kind of investment would be made available to strengthen the team. I interpreted that as maybe the club didn't want to keep on progressing.

"Obviously, almost immediately after I left they started investing in good players and spending some money, so I probably got that wrong."

"I don't think I have got anything to prove there. I am looking to go back there with my team now, which is Stoke, and do well."